Independence day : ReAliTy ChEcK

When the countries of the world were choosing sides between the two major super powers, a nation in the Southeast Asia was taking shape. With Peaceful and non violent protests as her weapons she marched towards her destiny, The Independence. 15^th of August 1947, India won her Independence from the colonial rule. Hence formed a nation which during the course of time overcomes various hurdles to reach the place where she is today, a nation that can influence the world in all aspects of society, from economy to culture. India  which was predicted to be down & broken within no time after her Independence by the who’s and who of the world  , showed its  strong willpower and courage to stand by her principles  by not aligning into either of the two super powers at that time and continued its journey towards development as an Independent nation. India took the path of democracy and is celebrated today around the world as the largest democracy and an example to many other nations around the world.

Each year, Independence Day is celebrated all over the country and the heroes of the struggle are remembered and paid respect for their sacrifices to the country. Independence Day celebrations compel me to think  how independent we really are of the problems that have been tied to India since years. Let’s take this auspicious occasion to also remember the challenges and problems we face this day as a nation and recollect the dream our freedom fighters had for the nation and where we are in the course of fighting these problems. 64 years into Independence, India still faces challenges, some of which have been with her since 15^th of august 1947 and some fresh new ones. I decided to name a few in this blog post.

1)    Food, Fuel & Population: The food inflation today is high, close to double figures again, which with the ever rising prices of food make the life of the common man difficult in these days. The reasons for this may be attributed mainly to a high population growth rate and also a downfall in agricultural production.  The downfall in agricultural production may be attributed to the little use of technology and minimum awareness amongst the farmers and little support from the government to farmers. Added to this is the heavy rise in fuel prices which also contribute to the food prices hike. Awareness about population control and its effects is one of the possible solutions to these problems.

2)   Women & Society: This day,we have women holding the top ranks in various government & private institutions but simultaneously on the other hand , we still have women being subjected to oppression & crimes .The fact that the practices like dowry system and other caste related social crimes are  still persistent in India makes me wonder how backward as a society we have become after 64 years of Independence. Nation is regarded as our Mother and Respect to women is the essence of our culture. We should let there be equality and let everyone live peacefully. The other major drawback in the society is the exploitation of the common man in the name of god and  then establishment of groups of religious wings which is not a practice prescribed for a secular country like India. There should certainly be awareness about this aspect and we should come out of this practice of blind faith for a better nation .

 3)   Security:  The most important aspect for a prosperous country is security. Internal and international. The border issues with Pakistan and China are certainly one of those issues which should be solved sooner than later for good to the world & our contry. Added to this is the cross border infiltration of Anti social activists and security lapses which results in chaos,explosions & destruction every now and then that disrupt the peace & harmony in the nation. Added to this are the in state self trained military, anti-government naxalites, (who are fighting for the cause of liberating the tribes and poor farmers from the oppression and lead lives of extreme poverty and forgotten even after years of Independence), have  a strong foothold all along the entire east coast of the nation. All these are  woes to the nation. There is a constant war between the Police and Naxalites in these areas which is a bother to public who is caught in between this violence exchange.

4)   Culture Corruption: India has picked up a culture of corruption. In recent times there have been various instances where various crowds from the government servants to civil servants to defense personnel to media have been involved in acts of greed. The resultant distrust on the government servants amongst the citizens of the nation gave rise to supporters of Anti Corruption law throughout the country. At present, the disagreement between these civil society representatives and the public elected representatives to reach to a common decision point seems to result nothing but disruption of the everyday life of the common man.

5)   States of uncertainty: Jammu Kashmir is one place which has been under unrest ever since Independence. The constant clash between the separatists and their counterparts has left the beautiful valley in chaos.  Added to this is the rise of protests in states like Andhra Pradesh demanding a bifurcation of the state and the demand for Ghorkaland etc etc is making the government struggle to maintain peace in these places. And this has been hampering the development in these places and India as a country.

6)   Crisis, Ruling Crisis: The problems mentioned above and various others which have been building up on our nation have left the ruling government without any answers and have been deprived of trust of the public. The inefficiency to control protests & lack of ability to give a credible answer to the public is a negative for democracy. Also, the lack of a strong opposition party in the nation also adds to the woes of the situation. There isn’t any credible, able, party visible in the near future to take up the office. This is definitely unhealthy for democracy and something that fears me along with other citizens of the country.

These are a few of various things that trouble our nation. Yet, our nation stands strong. It stands as an example of the secular nation, celebrating various cultures and religions in one place. The unity when it comes to dealing problems or celebrating festivals and occasions makes the India a special place.

The solution to all these problems is education of the masses-which is not a solution that can be done over a week’s time or lesser but the education of masses will give the masses a voice. This gives an advantage through awareness while they say their voice during the democratic practice of elections. This will make sure the right one takes the office and makes right decisions for the nation. For now, those in the office should take a thought and help make our country a better one than it already is. Let us take this holiday to think about these problems once again which have been troubling us since a long time. The government and public should act together for solving these issues. A mere blog post can never solve the problems that are decades old. But a though about them before a loud celebration may help in solving them.

It is true that no nation in this world is a perfect one but desiring to be perfect is the first step towards achieving the dream “utopia” and Let me Wish you a happy Independence Day because we should definitely celebrate Independence Day and also strive for independence from the problems of our nation.

Right to freedom of speech ? ? ?

“The Booker prize-winning novelist and human rights campaigner Arundhati Roy is facing the threat of arrest after claiming that the disputed territory of Kashmir was not an integral part of India”, as quoted by British national daily news paper The Guardian, last month over the controversy raised by Roy’s remarks on Kashmir.

According to news reports, recently, Roy was charged under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between classes), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace) and 505(false statement, rumor circulated with intent to cause mutiny or offense against public peace).

The current proceedings compel me to raise two questions about the current situation in India.

The first is, how feasible is the constitution’s Right to expression of speech? The constitution provides rights to every Indian, to express his/her views but with certain clauses tagged to it. The main clause is that the expression should not be a hate speech or it shouldn’t initiate riots. Now how do we define a hate speech? Roy’s comment about Kashmir is the voice of over thousands in the Kashmir, who either due to dissatisfaction or some other unknown cause call for independence. The action of the government should be to check in the problems and controversies over Kashmir and bring the turbulent situation in Kashmir under control and satiate the people there and make them realize the importance of united growth, instead of calling for action against those who voice over the current situation in Kashmir.

I am in no position to comment the over Roy’s statements because I am not fully-completely aware of the situations in Kashmir, as I personally haven’t been to Kashmir or in those situations the people are currently facing there, except to read about them in daily newspapers.

Yes, I agree that right to expression should not be misused to the extent of propagating hate over communities or religions but expressing views on the state of the nation is legitimate. The statement (speech) by Roy has not caused any good or bad to the current situation in Kashmir, where there have been regular day to day protests since long time.

The second question that comes to my mind, which is in fact a ’fear’ more than a question regarding how the world would view our state of democracy from hence.

We already have negative remarks about artists leaving India to take asylum at another country fearing their right to expressions and few other instances of banning works of other writers and artists. Now there has already been news in and around the world quoted similar to above about author Roy.I now fear, about our country and its largest democracy, which boasts for its freedom of expression , doesn’t end up being quoted in the same lines of ” Burma jailing Aung San Suu” or“China jailing Liu Xiaobo” by the world. The unnecessary hype that got attached to the issue in India around Roy’s statement, which should have been worked upon or ignored like any other political-view, might actually demean India’s stature as a country that prides over its democracy and freedom of speech.

Finally,I end the article condemning the arrest and raising questions about the government’s ability to tackle criticism over the state of the nation. In general, views on both sides of the political-situation should be welcomed so there will be awareness about the great range of views and sentiments of the people of the nation.The check on speeches might get even heavier after this which is not good for democracy. The response answers by the government to the statements made by people of the country should come in terms of positive action on the situations but not on the people themselves.

Its only when the nation and is ’united’, we can take our country forward towards progress.

References : 1) http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/Arundhati-Roy-Syed-Ali-Shah-Geelani-charged-with-sedition/Article1-632402.aspx

2) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/26/arundhati-roy-kashmir-india